Wait… What!? Gary Johnson is back in NM?! *facepalm*
Perrinial “outsider” and self-proclaimed “dumbest guy you’ve ever met in your whole life” Gary Johnson is officially back in New Mexico once again trying to stay relevant. Johnson filed paperwork with the Secretary of State Tuesday to run as a Libertarian, taking the place of current Commissioner of Public Lands, Aubrey Dunn.
But before we get all hung up on the spectacle of another semi-celebrity running for office, we thought it’d be important to remind people where old Gary really stands on the issues.
Yesterday was Election Day in Washington, Ohio, Michigan, Kansas, and Missouri and while not every progressive candidate won major landslide victories, across the country gains were made. More women and people of color were running than ever before and their continued successes means that, while our federal system was created to take time to change, change is coming! One of the races progressive poll watchers are most excited for is Sharice Davids, who is a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation and an out lesbian. After winning her primary yesterday, she will face off against Representative Kevin Yoder (R) in Kansas’s Third Congressional District in November. In Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer won a three-way primary that included two men of color.
[UPDATE: Gov. Martinez’s Public Education Department has said they will appeal the judge’s decision that the state is required to provide more funding to students in NM. Gubernatorial candidate Michelle Lujan Grisham has said she will halt any appeal of the decision Gov. Martinez makes if she’s elected Governor. Steve Pearce has yet to make a similar determination. Read about it at NM In Depth.]
In a devastating rebuke to the failed education and funding policies of Gov. Susana Martinez (along with her conservative allies like the Rio Grande Foundation and conservative Democrats like Sen. John Arthur Smith), First Judicial District Court Judge Sarah Singleton handed down a huge win for New Mexico’s students Friday. You can’t put it more succinctly than the first line of the ABQ Journal’s article: “New Mexico is violating the constitutional rights of at-risk students by failing to provide them with a sufficient education.”
For now, we know that Pearce likely knows Erickson, the man who lived with and connected a young Russian woman accused of using her influence to further financial and political sway between pro-gun Russian and US organizations and activists. What role Erickson has ever played for Pearce directly is unknown, but given the congressman’s deep pockets and generous donations from the NRA over the last decade, it’s certainly worth considering.
As New Mexicans gather this morning to show their strong support for clean air and methane standards, Congressman Steve Pearce revealed his true colors again last night in Washington. His vote to strip funding for the implementation of federal methane requirements on the oil and gas industry wouldn’t just dirty New Mexico’s air, new polling shows it is also dramatically out of step with the will of 9 out of 10 New Mexicans. New polling data released just yesterday shows that the way you yourself probably feel about public lands is actually the way most folks feel about it. Overall the poll shows strong support for public lands in the west, that voters reject candidates who favor extraction over conservation, and common sense issues like the Methane Rule have broad support from either side of the aisle. It appears that Pearce didn’t get a chance to see the poll yesterday though before taking a vote to cut funding for enforcement of the Methane Rule. 89 percent of ALL New Mexicans support the rule, so it’s baffling that Pearce would vote against something with such clear interest to his constituents.
President Trump nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court last night and we have every right to be concerned- we would be naive to not be concerned. New Mexico has some of the most beautiful lands in the world and is home to twenty-three federally recognized tribes. What does this Supreme Court pick mean for the Land of Enchantment?
Native American tribes across the country are the one group of people that are impacted by nearly every level of government at once. Here in New Mexico, we are home to twenty-three federally recognized tribes- twenty-three sovereign nations with their own unique governmental systems. The Supreme Court has a terrible track record of denying basic human dignities to Native and Indigenous peoples.
Rallies and protests are happening all over NM tomorrow as part of a national day of action that will see events in over 650 cities. We’ll see you there!
With the humanitarian crises on the border dominating headlines the past few weeks and this week’s massive Supreme Court news, it’s easy to forget there are still other matters being decided in the halls of Congress that affect Americans everyday lives. Congressman Steve Pearce is pushing through two bills RIGHT NOW that would do away with important management and oversight of the Bureau of Land Management when it comes to issuing permits for drilling oil wells on public lands.
Pearce, himself a millionaire oilman, of course, claims this is about “cutting red tape” but considering he’s running for governor this year it sure seems like he’s trying to do his buddies in the Permian Basin a huge favor while he’s still on Capitol Hill. But even as governor Pearce could still make it easier for oil and gas companies at the expense of our public lands, our environment, and even if practical policies that would actually net oil and gas companies more revenue like fixing the Methane Rule.
Just look at Governor Susana Martinez’ role with oil and gas over the last eight years. And in the midst of everything that is happening, Martinez not only wrote a letter earlier in the year that encouraged the feds to support the undoing of the permitting process but actually traveled to Washington DC earlier this month and testified IN SUPPORT of Pearce’s bills.
Well, we’re not going to let Pearce’s or Martinez’ attempts to undermine our public lands and our natural resources without saying something. That’s why we’ve launched these digital ads to help spread awareness of what’s happening.
It’s been 10 days since the first big action took place in Tornillo Texas, where a small land port of entry has become of the burning hot focal points of the massive uprising against the inhumane separation of families detained by ICE, CBP, and Border Patrol. ProgressNow New Mexico has been down in Tornillo four times to bear witness to various actions from general protests, to visits from our state’s two Senators, to today’s acts of civil disobedience that shut down the port for over two hours. We’ve tried to cover as much live from Facebook as we could, taken pictures, and talked with folks who’ve worked to organize these events. While the Trump administration has continued to push its narrative of “zero tolerance” when it comes to immigration from south of the border, people from all walks of life have shown up and with increasing escalation, attempted to keep people’s focus on what matters: That children of all ages, and genders, are being housed in tents in 100+ degree weather with no actual plan of reuniting them with their families. We’ve learned that Trump only signed the Executive Order that supposedly ended family separation AFTER being turned down by at least two private corporations to build more additions onto the facility at Tornillo AND made it so that indefinite family detention is still a concept they’re willing to pursue.
